Guardian
by DragonJ
Summary: In times of danger, shinobi invoke the Twilight Guardian...but how did she come to be?


Trying out a different form of fanfic this time. Thanks to Magic: the Gathering for some of the names.

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A child's cry split the air, disrupting the reverie of his mother. She stopped listening to the rain beating down on the roof and went to his room to comfort him.

"Heishiro…what's wrong?"

The boy sniffled.

"It's dark…and Daddy still hasn't come home yet…"

The young woman stroked his head and tried to comfort him, even as a feeling of fear and trepidation gripped her own heart. Takashi was supposed to have come back from his mission in the late afternoon.

"Don't worry, the Kami of Safe Return will protect him." She whispered.

"Mommy, can you tell me the story of the Twilight Guardian again?"

She smiled. The Tale of Hikari had always been his favorite story.

"Alright. Quiet down then, and I'll begin."

The boy's sobs subsided as she sat down next to his bed, then started reciting a legend that had been passed down through the generations of her family.

"Once upon a time, in a long-forgotten hidden village, there was a set of twins born to a shinobi family. They couldn't have been more different. The older, a daughter, was named Hikari; she had a long mane of bright white hair, and a sunny, cheerful disposition. The younger was named Horobi; he had a messy shock of midnight black locks and a dark, moody demeanor. Even from the beginning, they were rivals and best friends at the same time. They competed at everything: swimming, running, all manners of sports, and all the childhood activities.

As time went on, they followed their parents' path in becoming shinobi, both enrolling in their village's Ninja Academy. Their rivalry turned more towards the ninja arts: who could master a jutsu first, whose shuriken skills were more accurate, who could walk on water the longest, and basically all the skills that the Academy taught. Both of them advanced through the ranks extremely quickly – they were two of the most talented shinobi the village had ever seen. They helped each other and learned from each other. Both of them were geniuses of the highest degree and outclassed all the other ninjas in the village. They were Jonin when most of their classmates hadn't even yet become Chunin.

But Horobi was not happy. He was always one step behind. If he could hit ninety-nine out of one hundred targets in shuriken practice, Hikari would hit all of them. If he could walk on water for twenty three hours, Hikari would do it for an entire day. Even in their missions he was always lagging. When he created a jutsu that could burn a tree with just a hand motion, Hikari created a jutsu that could incinerate a forest. When he killed his first man in battle, Hikari destroyed an entire platoon. When he took out his first platoon, Hikari slaughtered the rest of the army. He could never catch up to his sister, and he hated it.

Eventually, the old Kage who had governed the village for as long as anyone could remember died. The council, trying to choose a successor, examined the two obvious files: those of Horobi and Hikari. They were evenly matched in skill and ability, so the council took into account their personalities. It was noted that Horobi had been unstable in the past and disqualified for this reason. Hikari was named the next Kage.

For Horobi, this was the last straw. Hikari always beat him in everything. He decided to take matters into his own hands, attempting a coup to take control from his sister. In one final confrontation, they fought to a stalemate and Horobi left the village, Hikari watching his retreating back with great sadness in her heart.

As the years passed, Hikari developed into a wonderful Kage. She was a strong leader and the village flourished beneath her rule. The power of the village greatly increased and the nation it was based in was the strongest of them all. But each day at dusk, Hikari would go out to the front of the village and wait until night completely fell, still hoping that someday her brother would return.

Around a decade after Horobi had left the village, news came that a new village far to the east was waging war against the surrounding lands. The gossip was that five years ago, what had previously been a barren land was covered by a mist of darkness. As the power of the village grew, the darkness expanded. Now, as the new village conquered its neighbors, the cloak of midnight was falling over them as well.

Hikari strengthened her village's defenses as news of the defeat of more and more nations and villages reached her. Her home would not fall. Every ounce of her energy went in to devising new techniques to protect the village. Yet still, each day at dusk, Hikari would wait until night and then go back inside as the village gates closed behind her, waiting for her brother to safely return. She wondered if this new threat had anything to do with Horobi.

Eventually, the tide of darkness had reached the nation where Hikari's village lay. From her observation tower, the black mist blocked out all view of the surrounding lands. Reports came back to her that the enemy commanded an army of shinobi one hundred times the size of her own, and that any enemy who fell was somehow added to this massive force. It was commanded by a man who rumors named "The Lord of the Eternal Night", or simply, "Death's Wail". It was said that he could kill a person just by looking at him, and that he was an avatar of the Kami of Death.

One night, as the gates closed behind Hikari as she completed her daily vigil, the attack began. Shambling swarms of unnatural shinobi attacked the village. The shinobi of Hikari's village fought hard, but their enemy simply would not die. For each one they cut down, two more would take their place. For each shinobi lost, one man would be added to the enemy army. In one day, the entire village was completely slaughtered and as twilight fell, the leader of the foul army killed off the Kage's elite guard and strode into her quarters.

Of course, it was Horobi. Hikari nearly fainted at the sight of her brother. He was scarred all over, and black chakra was oozing out of his pores, creating a cloud around him. His entire existence was unnatural. Horobi's face twisted into a sad semblance of a grim as he noticed Hikari's expression.

'Surprised, sister? See what I have become? This is your doing…'

With blinding speed, Horobi pinned Hikari against the wall with his left hand, a blade of black chakra forming in his right hand. She never even had a chance to dodge.

'I've become a lot stronger since the last time we've met. This time, there will be no stalemate, and I will win.'

The blade of chakra was fully formed now. It looked like pure darkness. Horobi didn't deliver the fatal blow though, and continued talking.

'Before you die though, you might want to know what your dear brother's become…'

He stabbed his blade into her stomach, causing her to spit up blood and look up at him. His eyes flashed red and Hikari found herself enveloped in illusion, a dreamworld of her brother's creation.

She saw that day long ago when he had left the village. He had drifted to another nation, then another, hunting bounties to buy food and drink. Eventually, he turned to crime as a way to build up funds to someday return to his homeland. He kept on drifting eastward, and came to a barren land where an ebony shrine stood in the middle of a blasted landscape. As he made his way to the shrine, a shout rose behind him. His enemies had gathered into an army of five hundred men, and now they charged to kill him. For the entire day he fought against the army from atop the shrine and at the darkest point of the night, he slew the five hundredth man, his fresh lifeblood flowing onto the altar of the shrine from a fatal wound. And then Horobi, exhausted, toppled forward onto the altar as the pain from his own wounds hit him. He would die here…

But it was not to be. The Kami of Death had been unwittingly summoned by Horobi, lured in by the fresh blood on his altar. The spirit pulled Horobi up from his stupor. Hikari watched in horror as the Kami began speaking to her brother.

'A sacrifice of five hundred men? You amuse me, little one. Tell me, what is your deepest desire?'

Horobi answered.

'I want power.'

The Kami of Death laughed – a horrible, screeching laugh that spoke of pain and despair.

'So be it, little one. I will grant you infinite power if you so wish. But if I do, when you fall, your soul is mine.'

Horobi didn't even hesitate.

'I agree.'

The spirit laughed again, and brushed one black tendril against Horobi's head. The shinobi screamed as a black light exploded out of him. Then, all of a sudden, the light stopped and Horobi stood tall, black chakra leaking out of him. He began walking down the steps of the shrine, and wherever he trod, the dead rose behind him, a little bit of black chakra guiding their steps.

The Kami of Death spoke one last time.

'Here is your army, mortal. Do not disappoint me.'

And then the spirit disappeared.

Hikari watched, horrified, as Horobi's War began, his black chakra blade striking down so many shinobi – the only sound they made their dying wails. Nations were slaughtered as anyone who resisted was killed, and raised to fight again by Horobi's chakra. Entire villages were destroyed by a black fire that burned seven days and seven nights. There was only the sound of Horobi's laughter as people were wiped from existence.

And then Hikari could feel something in her mind. This genjutsu of Horobi's was digging through her memories so he could examine them. Suddenly, the sensation stopped, and Hikari dropped back into the real world.

Horobi's hand was still on her throat, his blade still buried in her body, but he was trembling now. In midair floated recreations of the memories that Horobi's genjutsu had dredged up. Childhood memories, the two laughing and playing together, their academy days, their first mission…now the fights between them, the angry words, the last battle and Horobi's subsequent departure. And then the memories that had caused Horobi's genjutsu to break: they were all the same. Each day at dusk, Hikari heading out to the village gates to pray to the Kami for Horobi's safe return, and each night as darkness fell, heading back into the village, gripped by sadness and sorrow.

Horobi turned to look at Hikari again, and was surprised to see her smiling even as blood trickled down the side of her mouth.

'Brother…it's good to see you again…'

The black blade extinguished and Hikari fell to the ground, a trail of blood leading down the wall. Horobi fell to his knees, staring at his hands.

'W…wh…why?'

He looked at Hikari again, her eyes already misting over with the fog of death.

'Sister…I'm sorry…'

He brought her limp body into his arms, sharing one final embrace, his tears trickling down his face as he felt her lifeforce leave her. He set her gently down on her bed, then stood up and focused his chakra into a blade one last time.

'It's time for me to leave this world.'

He stabbed himself in the heart, and his world went dark as his body pitched forward. A ghostly, ethereal form rose out of his body as it slumped to the floor. The spirit of Horobi waited there in the air, head bowed, as a Kami manifested in front of him.

The Kami of Death chuckled as he saw the scene in front of him.

'Well then…I believe we had a deal.'

The Kami raised his scythe, and swung.

There was a brilliant flash of light as the ghostly form of a kunoichi appeared in front of Horobi's spirit, blocking the soul-reaping scythe with a shining kunai.

Horobi gaped.

'Hikari?'

She turned her face toward him as she forced the Kami of Death back.

'I will never let the darkness claim anyone again.'"

The mother's story stopped as she realized the child had fallen asleep, his chest rising and falling with his breaths. She smiled and pulled his blanket up to cover his form, then sat back down again and continued the story, whispering silently to herself as she watched over her sleeping child.

"And that is why we pray to Hikari, who we call the Twilight Guardian, the Kami of Safe Return. When twilight comes and the Kami of Death begins his hunt for souls, she protects those who are surrounded by darkness and guides them safely home.

As for Horobi, that's a story for another day…"

She gasped and started as the front door of the house suddenly opened. She dashed outside and nearly collided with her husband as he limped in, injured but still well. It was apparent he had been in a battle that had not gone well. He hugged her tightly as she wrapped her arms around his body.

"I'm sorry…I was ambushed by a group of shinobi as night was falling. I was sure I was going to die…one moment I was surrounded by enemies and the next moment I was here…I don't know what happened…"

Then he collapsed into a chair, exhausted.

As the young woman looked out the still-open door, she saw the glowing form of an ethereal kunoichi standing on a light-pole outside, the brilliance throwing back the darkness.

She dropped to her knees and bowed her head.

"Hikari…thank you…" she whispered.

As she raised her head, a bolt of lightning flashed through the air and the Twilight Guardian disappeared, off to parts unknown to continue her eternal battle against the darkness.


End file.
